Someone Help Me Name This Cake?

I am terrible at coming up with names for cakes/cookies/meals of any kind. Chocolate cake with so many alterations it barely resembles a typical chocolate cake is still just "chocolate cake." Either that or I have to explain every time whatever is in what I made, instead of just having a clever name that sums it all up. So if anyone has any suggestions for this, let me know? I may not have a name for it, but I can assure you it's delicious.

Sometimes when I'm bored and in a cooking mood, I look up recipes for a specific thing to make (like cake for example), decide on a base recipe (chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, something with fruit), open up a new tab a million tabs from other sites and start assembling bits and pieces of the final recipe in Gmail. Today was one of those days. Obviously, this process gets complicated if certain things I want to make, I don't have the ingredients for, but most of the time I just make substitutions or alterations.
I originally hadn't intended to, since I make things with Oreos so often, but I added Oreos at the last minute because I knew I wanted a filling of some sort / two different frostings so it wasn't overwhelmingly chocolate. I love cakes dripping with ganache on top, but have never made one, and I also think cakes decorated in a creative way (not the frosting this time, since I lost my piping bag and tips) are always awesome.

So I decided on chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, cookies & cream frosting in between the layers, covered in dripping ganache and decorated with Halloween nonpareils and Whoppers because it's October and I need to use my Halloween sprinkles, don't judge me.
Another thing: I AM ABSOLUTELY AWFUL AT WAITING FOR CAKES TO COOL. I'm so excited and eager to frost the cake that most of the time, I put the frosting in between the layers and it melts right away. I have tried to hurry the cake up by putting it in the freezer / fridge but of course, the middle is always still warm and causes everything to melt and be lopsided, etc. Do not be like me. If you are like me, and end up with a tilty cake, put it in the fridge for a bit until the cake is cool and frosting has hardened up a bit, then fill in any gaps and try to make everything as even as possible. Other blogs have tutorials and things of that nature for how to properly frost the perfect cake, and I would advise looking at them at least once (unless you're one of those people who isn't a perfectionist and doesn't care what the cake looks like as long as it tastes good; then just keep being you because you are awesome and I admire you).

for the cake:

• ¾ cup butter room temperature
• ¾ cup sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 ¾ cup all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 2 oz semi-sweet chocolate melted

chocolate buttercream: 

• 1 cup butter
• 1 tsp vanilla
• A pinch of salt
• 1 ½ cups powdered sugar (or to taste)
• ½ cup + 1 tbsp cocoa powder

oreo filling:

• ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
•  about 1 row of Oreo cookies, finely crushed
• 2 tbsp heavy cream or milk
• ½ tsp vanilla extract

dark chocolate glaze:

• ¾ a cup of dark chocolate chips
• 3 tbsp of heavy cream
• 1 tbsp of powdered sugar 
• (a couple of tsp of water if needed)

the cake:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8 inch pan with parchment paper or lightly grease with baking spray. Set aside.
Beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Stir in the flour, baking powder and cocoa powder.
Add the melted chocolate to the cake batter and pour it into the prepared baking pan.
Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

the glaze:

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Place a heat proof bowl over the top of the simmering water.
Add in chocolate and heavy cream, stir continuously until melted.Stir in sugar.
If it does not look pourable, add some water 1 tsp at a time until it is.
Remove from heat and allow to cool for about 15 minutes.
You can work the chocolate down the sides with a rubber spatula to create drips

the chocolate buttercream:
Whip in a stand mixer using a paddle attachment butter, and flavoring till creamy then whip in powdered sugar and cocoa. Set aside until ready to use.

oreo filling:
Grind/crush Oreo cookies until fine.
Cube butter and place in stand alone mixer bowl.
Using the whisk attachment, whisk butter, vanilla, 1 cup of sugar, and Oreo cookies together on medium speed until smooth.
Add remaining sugar and 2 tbsp cream.
Whisk on medium to high for a few minutes until frosting is smooth.

(recipe sources / recipes altered:  cake | oreo frosting | glaze | buttercream)

Triple Chocolate Cookies

It tastes just as good as it sounds and it made me wonder why I'd never mixed ground up cookies into my cookie batter before, because it's a brilliant idea (especially with Oreos).
I've since made these cookies two more times because they've become a new favorite.

I don't have a food processor (which if you read this blog often enough, you'd know) which may seem like a setback, but it's no problem at all. In order to crush cookies, crackers, and the like, all I do is take a ziploc bag, put the cookies in, and smash them up with a rolling pin. Sometimes (like with Oreos, specifically because the cream in the cookie makes it stick to the bag in large amounts), it's easier to smash one cookie at a time. It's tedious but worth it if you don't have a food processor. All that smashing is probably good for stress too.

Triple Chocolate Cookies (recipe via picky palate)

• 2 sticks softened butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips, I used semi-sweet
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• 15 whole Oreo Cookies, finely ground

Preheat oven to 350°F and get a large baking sheet ready.
In a stand or electric mixer, beat butter and sugars until well combined. Add eggs and vanilla, beating until well combined.

Place flour, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Add to wet ingredients along with cocoa powder, ground Oreos, and chocolate chips, slowly mixing until just combined. With a medium cookie scoop, scoop dough onto prepared baking sheet, about 1 inch apart from each other.
Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, until cooked through. Let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Chocolate Cheesecake Bars

I have been in a ridiculous cooking-mode all week. I guess I missed baking and cooking a lot more than I thought while I was at college. 



Chocolate Cheesecake

• 1-1/2 cups finely crushed Oreo cookie crumbs (about half the package) 
• 3 tbsp. melted butter 
• 2 8oz packages of softened cream cheese 
• 3/4 c. sugar 
• 2 eggs 
• 1/3 cup dutch-process cocoa (1.38 oz) 
• a handful of semi-sweet chocolate chips 

Preheat your oven to 325 F.
Line a 9x9 baking dish with tinfoil, then coat it with cooking spray.

If you don't have a food processor (like me), place your Oreos in a plastic bag and smash them with a rolling pin until they're good and crumbly. They don't have to be perfect and small chunks of cookie are fine. After crushing the Oreo cookies, mix them with the melted butter and press into the bottom of the pan tightly. Cook crust for about 10 minutes.

Mix the cream cheese, sugar, and eggs in a mixing bowl on medium (or with a hand mixer) until creamy, then mix in the cocoa until everything is combined. Pour cheesecake batter into the prepared pan with crust and spread evenly. Coat top of cheesecake with chocolate chips.

Bake 35-40 minutes, until set. Let cool on a wire rack and then refrigerate for at least 2 hours before slicing into bars.

Halloween Oreo Cheesecake Brownies

I got the chance to bake I was at my mom’s house, picking up a few things. I had to make something for Halloween, since I do every year, and with all the Halloween Oreos I’ve been eating, I figured I might as well incorporate them into something.

Notes: The oreos I took cream out of were the ones that went in the batter. Instead of “coarsely chopping” them, I crushed them in a plastic bag with a rolling pin, until they were pretty much just crumbs, about the consistency of sand. I left a few with cream, chopped into about 1/8in bits to crumble on top before I put them in the oven.

Halloween Oreo Cheesecake Brownies

• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 cup dark cocoa
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/3 cups coarsely chopped Halloween Oreo cookies (about one row from a package)

Preheat oven to 350° F. Cover an 8x8 baking pan with tinfoil (this will make lifting the brownies out easier when they’re cool) and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Whisk until combined and set aside.
Melt the butter in a small saucepan, over medium heat. Whisk in sugar and bring to a boil, whisking frequently; boil for 1 minute. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes.

Take the cream out of about six Oreos. In a small mixing bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat together cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and Oreo cream until well combined, about 1 minute.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, until combined. Whisk in melted butter-sugar mixture until combined. Stir in flour mixture until just combined, followed by Oreo cookies.

Spread half of brownie batter into baking dish, followed by cream cheese layer; dot the top with remaining brownie batter, and spread evenly, as best as you can. Run a knife through batter to make “swirls”.

Bake for 23-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out semi-clean.
Cool on a wire rack to room temperature before slicing.

Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake Bars with Oreo Crust

Cheesecake is probably my favorite dessert, if you can’t tell by how many I make. And chocolate and strawberries is one of the best combinations ever, right? So after making oreo cheesecake bars, combining the two was the only option I could think of. Well maybe not the only option, but it sounded good at the time. If conditions were more favorable, this probably would have come out a lot better. I think I overcooked the crust, but that’s what happens when you’re in a rush, trying to cook things at 1am while your mother is asleep, and you’re whacking Oreos into crumbs with a rolling pin while still trying to not wake the whole neighborhood up. All in all, it still tasted pretty damn good.

Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake Bars with Oreo CrustFor the crust:

• 23 Oreo cookies
• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

For the cheesecake (recipe via mykitchensnippets):

• 2 package (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened at room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tbsp flour
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup strawberry jam

For the (optional) strawberry topping:

• about 6 or 7 strawberries, sliced (you may need more or less, depending on the size of your berries)
• 1/3 cup strawberry jam

Preheat oven to 325ºF. Grease and line an 8” x 8” square baking with parchment paper with leaving an overhang on both side (for easy removal of your slices later).
If you have a food processor: place the Oreos in the bowl of your food processor. Process, pulsing, until the cookies are finely ground. Add in the melted butter and pulse until the cookie crumbs are moistened. If you do not have a food processor: place Oreos in large ziploc bag, and beat with a rolling pin until finely ground. Transfer crumbs into a bowl and add in the melted butter, mixing until moist. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking pan. Press the crumbs into an even layer over the bottom of the pan. Bake the crust for 10 minutes, then set aside while you prepare the filling.

Beat cream cheese, sugar, flour and lemon juice in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating on low speed after each addition, just until blended. Pour over crust. Heat up strawberry jam slightly in the microwave. Gently drop jam by small spoonfuls over top of batter. Cut through batter several times with knife for marble effect. Bake 40 min. or until center is set. Cool. Slice strawberries and heat up the additional 1/3 cup jam in the microwave. Layer your strawberries over the cheesecake, then drizzle the warm jam evenly over the berries and top of the cake. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight before slicing.